Indiana General Durable Power of Attorney for Property & Finances (Immediate)

Indiana General Durable Power of Attorney
for Property & Finances (Immediate)

INDIANA GENERAL DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

For Property and Finances

(Effective Immediately)

(Indiana Code 30-5 — Indiana Power of Attorney Act)

NOTICE — READ THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN

This power of attorney is an important legal document. It gives the person you name as your attorney in fact broad powers over your property and financial affairs, which may include the power to sell or otherwise dispose of your real and personal property without advance notice to you or approval by you.

This document was drafted by PublicLegal for use in Indiana. It is NOT an official state form — Indiana prescribes no single mandatory power of attorney form. Instead, the Indiana Power of Attorney Act (Indiana Code 30-5) supplies catalogued powers that this document incorporates by reference, as Indiana Code 30-5-5-1 provides. Under Indiana Code 30-5-10-3, a power of attorney is durable by default: it is not terminated by your later incapacity unless the document says otherwise. This document is intended to be durable.

This DURABLE power of attorney takes effect when you sign it, and your attorney in fact's authority continues even if you later become incapacitated.

Your attorney in fact is your fiduciary. Indiana Code 30-5-6-3 requires your attorney in fact to exercise every power granted here in a fiduciary capacity — for your benefit. Indiana law entitles your attorney in fact to a reasonable fee for services unless you elect otherwise in Article VI.

This document does NOT give anyone authority to make health care decisions for you. Indiana law does not permit a power of attorney executed after December 31, 2022 to grant health care powers under this chapter (IC 30-5-5-16(e)); health care decisions are made under Indiana's separate health care representative and advance directive laws (IC 16-36).

You may revoke this power of attorney at any time while you have capacity, but only by a written revocation that identifies this power of attorney and is signed by you — and it is not effective as to any person until that person has actual knowledge of it (IC 30-5-10-1). If this power of attorney is recorded, the revocation must also be recorded. This document terminates at your death.

If there is anything about this document you do not understand, ask an Indiana lawyer of your own choosing to explain it before you sign.

I have read or had explained to me this Notice and I understand its contents.

_____________________________________________ ____________________

(Signature of Principal) (Date)

ARTICLE I — APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY IN FACT

I, the undersigned principal:

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________

designate the following person as my attorney in fact, to act for me as provided in this power of attorney:

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________________________________

Co-attorneys in fact (optional). I may name a second attorney in fact to serve at the same time: _______________________________________________. If I name two attorneys in fact, then under Indiana Code 30-5-4-3(a) EACH MAY ACT INDEPENDENTLY unless I check here: [ ] my two attorneys in fact must act JOINTLY. If one of two co-attorneys in fact fails or ceases to serve, the other may continue to act alone (IC 30-5-4-3(b)).

Successor attorneys in fact (optional, recommended). If my attorney in fact dies, resigns, is adjudged incapacitated, cannot be located upon reasonable inquiry, ceases to be my spouse (if my attorney in fact was my spouse), or is certified by a physician as unable to transact a significant part of the business required (IC 30-5-4-4), I designate the following successor(s), each to act alone and successively in the order named, with the same authority. A successor who begins to serve remains my attorney in fact even if the replaced attorney in fact later reappears or recovers (IC 30-5-4-4(b)):

First successor: ____________________________________________________

Second successor: ____________________________________________________

ARTICLE II — EFFECTIVENESS AND DURABILITY

This power of attorney is effective on the date it is signed (IC 30-5-4-2(a)).

It is a durable power of attorney. Under Indiana Code 30-5-10-3, a power of attorney is not terminated by the incapacity of the principal unless the document states otherwise — and this document does not state otherwise. My attorney in fact's authority continues through any later incapacity of mine, and remains in effect until I revoke it or I die.

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ARTICLE III — GRANT OF ORDINARY POWERS

Under IC 30-5-5-1(a) and (b), I grant my attorney in fact each power listed under "Ordinary Powers" by its statutory descriptive language and section citation. Indiana law construes each reference as though the entire section were set out in this instrument. EACH LISTED POWER IS GRANTED UNLESS I INITIAL ITS "WITHHOLD" BOX. Initialing WITHHOLD deletes that power under IC 30-5-5-1(d). A blank WITHHOLD box means the power is granted.

Read each power. If you do NOT want your attorney in fact to have a power, initial that power's WITHHOLD box. You may also delete from, add to, or modify any power in the Special Instructions in Article V (IC 30-5-5-1(d)).

1. ORDINARY POWERS

WITHHOLD _______ (1) Real property transactions (IC 30-5-5-2)

WITHHOLD _______ (2) Tangible personal property transactions (IC 30-5-5-3)

WITHHOLD _______ (3) Bond, share, and commodity transactions (IC 30-5-5-4)

WITHHOLD _______ (4) Retirement plans (IC 30-5-5-4.5)

WITHHOLD _______ (5) Banking transactions (IC 30-5-5-5)

WITHHOLD _______ (6) Business operating transactions (IC 30-5-5-6)

WITHHOLD _______ (7) Insurance transactions (IC 30-5-5-7)

WITHHOLD _______ (8) Beneficiary transactions (IC 30-5-5-8)

WITHHOLD _______ (9) Fiduciary transactions (IC 30-5-5-10)

WITHHOLD _______ (10) Claims and litigation (IC 30-5-5-11)

WITHHOLD _______ (11) Family maintenance (IC 30-5-5-12)

WITHHOLD _______ (12) Benefits from military service (IC 30-5-5-13)

WITHHOLD _______ (13) Records, reports, and statements (IC 30-5-5-14)

WITHHOLD _______ (14) Electronic records, reports, and statements (IC 30-5-5-14.5)

WITHHOLD _______ (15) Estate transactions (IC 30-5-5-15)

WITHHOLD _______ (16) Delegation of authority (IC 30-5-5-18), as modified in paragraph 3 below

WITHHOLD _______ (17) All other matters (IC 30-5-5-19), as modified in paragraph 4 below

2. Notes on particular powers. Beneficiary transactions (IC 30-5-5-8) include disclaimers and transfers into a revocable trust I have created. Estate transactions (IC 30-5-5-15) include establishing a revocable trust solely for my benefit that terminates at my death — but under IC 30-5-5-15(a)(4) my attorney in fact MAY NOT make or change my will, and under IC 30-5-5-15(b) my attorney in fact must take my estate plan into account, to the extent it is known, when exercising powers over arrangements that transfer property at my death. My attorney in fact may access and copy (but not hold) my will, trusts, and personal records as needed (IC 30-5-5-15(d)).

3. Modification of the delegation power (IC 30-5-5-18). Any delegation of authority under that section terminates when the delegating attorney in fact fails or ceases to serve under IC 30-5-4-4. Gift authority under Article IV, if granted, may not be delegated.

4. Modification of "all other matters" (IC 30-5-5-19). The grant of all other matters is limited to property and financial matters I can perform through an attorney in fact. It does NOT include gift transactions under IC 30-5-5-9 (granted only in Article IV), health care powers under IC 30-5-5-16 or 30-5-5-17 (excluded entirely), or any power I have withheld above.

5. Health care excluded. This instrument does not grant health care powers under IC 30-5-5-16 or IC 30-5-5-17. Indiana law does not permit a document executed after December 31, 2022 to grant health care powers under this chapter (IC 30-5-5-16(e)). Health care decisions require Indiana's separate health care instruments (IC 16-36).

6. Digital assets. The grant of electronic records, reports, and statements (IC 30-5-5-14.5) includes access to my computers, devices, user accounts, the content of my electronic communications, a catalogue of those communications, and my other digital assets. In addition, this power of attorney EXPRESSLY grants my attorney in fact authority over the content of electronic communications sent or received by me, as provided in Indiana Code 32-39-2-6 (Indiana's Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act).

ARTICLE IV — GIFT POWER (SEPARATE ELECTION)

GIFT-MAKING POWER IS NOT GRANTED UNLESS I INITIAL THE "GRANT" BOX BELOW. A blank box means my attorney in fact has NO power to make gifts of my property.

GRANT _______ Gift transactions (IC 30-5-5-9). If I initial the GRANT box, my attorney in fact may: make gifts to organizations, charitable or otherwise, to which I have made gifts, and satisfy pledges I have made to organizations; and make gifts on my behalf to my spouse, my children and other descendants, and the spouses of my children and descendants, outright or in trust, for purposes my attorney in fact considers to be in my best interest, including minimizing income, estate, inheritance, or gift taxes — together with the related tax-filing, instrument, claims, and assistant-hiring powers described in IC 30-5-5-9.

Statutory limit on gifts to the agent. Under IC 30-5-5-9(a)(2), my attorney in fact, or a person my attorney in fact has a legal obligation to support, may not receive gifts in any one year totaling more than the amount allowed as an annual exclusion from gifts under Section 2503 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Optional tighter election (initial if desired): _______ My attorney in fact may NOT be the recipient of any gift under this power (this modifies the incorporated power as permitted by IC 30-5-5-1(d)).

ARTICLE V — SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

As permitted by IC 30-5-5-1(d), I delete from, add to, or modify the powers granted by this document as follows (if none, write "None"):

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

ARTICLE VI — COMPENSATION OF MY ATTORNEY IN FACT (IC 30-5-4-5)

Unless I check a box below, Indiana law entitles my attorney in fact to a REASONABLE FEE for services rendered — with written notice to me of the amount claimed not later than 12 months after the service — in addition to reimbursement of all reasonable expenses advanced on my behalf (IC 30-5-4-5).

[ ] Reimbursement only. I modify IC 30-5-4-5(b). My attorney in fact is NOT entitled to a fee for services. Reimbursement of reasonable expenses under IC 30-5-4-5(a) remains payable.

[ ] Statutory reasonable fee. My attorney in fact may take a reasonable fee as provided in IC 30-5-4-5(b), plus expenses.

ARTICLE VII — NOMINATION OF GUARDIAN (OPTIONAL)

If protective proceedings for my person or estate are ever commenced, I nominate the following person(s) for consideration by the court as my guardian. Under Indiana Code 30-5-3-4(a), the court SHALL make its appointment in accordance with my most recent nomination in a power of attorney except for good cause or disqualification. (Leave blank to make no nomination.)

Guardian of my estate: ________________________________________________

Guardian of my person: ________________________________________________

Under IC 30-5-3-4(d), a guardian appointed for me has no power, duty, or liability with respect to property that is subject to this valid power of attorney, and may not revoke or amend this power of attorney unless a court specifically so orders after a hearing of which my attorney in fact receives notice.

ARTICLE VIII — RELIANCE AND THIRD PARTIES

Acts bind me. All acts performed by my attorney in fact under this power of attorney have the same effect and bind me and my successors in interest as if I were competent, not incapacitated, and had acted on my own behalf (IC 30-5-8-1).

Presumption of validity; copies. This power of attorney, purporting to be signed by me, is presumed valid, and a party may rely on that presumption unless the party has actual knowledge that it was not validly executed (IC 30-5-8-2). A copy of this power of attorney certified by my attorney in fact or by me as a true and correct copy has the same force and effect as the original (IC 30-5-8-5); a certification form is attached as Exhibit A.

Duty to accept. Indiana Code 30-5-9-9 requires a person presented with this power of attorney to accept my attorney in fact's authority within three (3) business days, subject to limited statutory exceptions (such as actual notice of revocation or a reasonable, promptly stated belief that the document is invalid or does not cover the transaction). A person who improperly refuses may be liable in a court action for three times actual damages, attorney's fees, and prejudgment interest.

How my attorney in fact signs. When my attorney in fact signs an instrument on my behalf, a statement identifying me and indicating that the signer is acting as my attorney in fact must appear above, beside, or below the signature — for example, "[My name] by [attorney in fact's name], as attorney in fact" (IC 30-5-8-8).

ARTICLE IX — REVOCATION AND RECORDING

Revocation. I may revoke this power of attorney only by a written instrument of revocation that identifies this power of attorney and is signed by me; the revocation is not effective as to my attorney in fact or any other person until that person has actual knowledge of it (IC 30-5-10-1). If this power of attorney was recorded, the revocation must also be recorded and must reference the book and page or instrument number where this power of attorney is recorded (IC 30-5-10-1(c)).

Recording for real-estate use. My attorney in fact may act under this power of attorney without recording it, EXCEPT that before my attorney in fact presents any document that itself must be recorded (such as a deed), this power of attorney must first be recorded with the county recorder, and the document presented must reference the book and page or instrument number of the recorded power of attorney (IC 30-5-3-3). A preparation statement appears after the execution blocks so this document is recordable.

ARTICLE X — GOVERNING LAW AND SEVERABILITY

This power of attorney is governed by the Indiana Power of Attorney Act, Indiana Code Title 30, Article 5, and the laws of the State of Indiana. If any provision of this document is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

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EXECUTION

I sign this power of attorney, or direct it to be signed for me, as follows. Indiana law gives two alternative execution methods (IC 30-5-4-1(a)(4)): signing before a notary public, or signing before at least two qualified witnesses. RECOMMENDED: sign before a notary public. Notarization avoids the witness-eligibility rules that can void a witnessed document (IC 30-5-4-1.3) and makes this document ready to record for real-estate use (IC 30-5-3-3(d)). If another person signs for me at my direction, the notary must state that the signature was made at my direction (IC 30-5-4-1(b)).

_____________________________________________ ____________________

(Signature of Principal, or of the person signing at the Principal's direction) (Date)

METHOD 1 (RECOMMENDED) — NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT

State of Indiana, County of ____________________:

This instrument was acknowledged before me on ____________________ (date) by ____________________________________________ (name of principal).

[ ] Check only if applicable: the signature above was made at the direction of the principal by another person in the principal's presence and at the principal's direction (IC 30-5-4-1(b)).

_____________________________________________

(Signature of Notary Public) (Seal)

Printed name: __________________________ My commission expires: ______________ Commissioned in ______________ County

METHOD 2 (ALTERNATIVE) — TWO DISINTERESTED WITNESSES

Complete this block ONLY if you do not use Method 1. Each witness must be competent to be a witness in Indiana and must NOT be "interested" under Indiana Code 30-5-4-1.3: a person named as my attorney in fact or successor, a person granted a power or beneficial interest in this document, or the spouse or a descendant of such a person CANNOT be a witness, and an interested witness can void this power of attorney.

Self-proving clause (IC 30-5-4-1.7(d)). We, the undersigned principal and witnesses, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing power of attorney, declare: (1) the principal executed the power of attorney as the principal's free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it; (2) each witness, in the presence of the principal, signed the power of attorney as a witness; and (3) to the best of each witness's knowledge the principal was at the time of signing of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.

Witness 1 signature: __________________________________ Date: ______________

Witness 1 printed name and address: _______________________________________________

Witness 2 signature: __________________________________ Date: ______________

Witness 2 printed name and address: _______________________________________________

Preparation statement (for recording — IC 36-2-11-15): This instrument was prepared by ____________________________________________ (name and address of the person who prepared this document).

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EXHIBIT A — ATTORNEY IN FACT'S CERTIFICATION OF A TRUE COPY (IC 30-5-8-5)

Under Indiana Code 30-5-8-5, a copy of a power of attorney has the same force and effect as the original if the attorney in fact or the principal certifies that the copy is a true and correct copy.

I, ____________________________________________, the attorney in fact named in the attached Indiana General Durable Power of Attorney signed by ____________________________________________ (the principal) on ____________________ (date), certify under penalty of perjury that: (1) the attached copy of the power of attorney is a true and correct copy of the original; and (2) the power of attorney is in effect and has not been revoked or terminated.

_____________________________________________ ____________________

(Signature of Attorney in Fact) (Date)